Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it expects to play in improving and maintaining affordable air links from the Highlands and Islands to major urban centres.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive funds the air services between Glasgow and Barra, Glasgow and Campbeltown and Glasgow and Tiree. In addition, our subsidy to Highlands and Islands Airports Limited, which was some £15.1 million in 2000-01 or £55.77 per arriving passenger at HIAL’s airports, results in lower costs to airlines than if the full economic costs of providing airport infrastructure services were applied.

Air Services

Mr John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to British Regional Air Lines about a possible reduction in air services between Inverness and Gatwick.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive meets airlines on a regular basis to discuss a range of aviation matters. The issue of air services between Inverness and Gatwick is amongst those we have discussed with British Airways who recently acquired the British Regional Airlines Group. Regional air services are also among the issues we regularly discuss with the relevant UK and EC authorities.

Air Services

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any recorded incidence of wind farms interfering with airport radar.

Lewis Macdonald: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for the regulation of safety in the UK civil aviation industry. The CAA is not aware of any incidents of wind farms interfering with the safe operation of air services in Scotland.

Civil Servants

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil service or non-departmental public body jobs have been relocated to Inverness since May 1999.

Angus MacKay: There has been no transfer of Scottish Executive posts to Inverness since May 1999.

  Information on the number of staff employed in non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken or plans to take to address any animal welfare issues this autumn resulting from the animal movement restrictions and lack of auction sales and whether it will provide any assistance for the purchase of additional fodder or other purposes.

Ross Finnie: With the lifting of the small remaining infected area around Annan, the whole of Scotland now qualifies to be treated as foot-and-mouth disease free. This means that the movement and other controls which apply to our livestock sector are much less prohibitive than previously, allowing transactions by various means. Large numbers of livestock are now being moved as a result of private sales, video sales, sales by description and through collection centres and auction markets. In addition, the Livestock Welfare Disposal Scheme – Light Lambs should absorb large numbers of light and surplus lambs. In these circumstances I do not envisage the need to provide assistance for the purchase of additional fodder.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will provide for the disposal of venison carcases and whether it will provide additional support for the marketing of Scottish wild venison throughout the UK.

Ross Finnie: My officials have met with industry representatives and the department is looking at detailed options along with the Deer Commission for Scotland to support carcase disposal should that prove necessary. The Executive has already approved funding for a wild venison marketing initiative within the UK through the Marketing Development Scheme and will consider further applications should the industry wish to do so.

Less Favoured Areas

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15269 by Ross Finnie on 8 May 2001, whether the information requested on a breakdown of the payments made to farmers and crofters in the Argyll and Bute constituency under the new less favoured area scheme for this year is now available and, if so, whether it will now provide it and, if not, whether it has any plans in the future to collect this information.

Ross Finnie: An analysis of the less favoured areas support scheme for 2001 has been placed on the Scottish Executive website and is available from the Parliament’s reference centre. The data is broken down at area office, not constituency level.

Roads

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to reschedule the cancelled exhibition on the planned Fochabers/Mosstodloch bypass and what the reasons were for the cancellation of this exhibition.

Sarah Boyack: It is planned that the exhibition in Fochabers will coincide with publication of the draft road orders for the Fochabers and Mosstodloch bypass in October.

  The cancellation of the exhibition accommodation that had been booked provisionally for September was to allow further work to be undertaken on the environmental statement that is required to be published at the same time as the road orders.

Roads

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects work to commence on the lowering of kerbs in the High Street, Fochabers.

Sarah Boyack: BEAR Scotland Ltd are currently carrying out the necessary design work to allow the works to commence this financial year.

Roads

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any delays in issuing draft orders in relation to the planned Fochabers/Mosstodloch bypass and what the reasons have been for any such delays.

Sarah Boyack: Progress with the preparation of the scheme is in line with the programme for a start of construction in 2003 that I announced following the strategic roads review. It is now planned to publish draft road orders for the Fochabers and Mosstodloch bypass in October. It was earlier hoped that publication could take place in September.

Special Educational Needs

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice is available to parents of a disabled child in relation to the choice of a mainstream school for their child.

Nicol Stephen: Parents of disabled children can obtain advice in relation to the choice of a school primarily from their education authority. Parents and children can also obtain independent advice from the Enquire helpline, from the Disability Rights Commission, from the organisation Enable or from any other voluntary sector organisation or parents’ group specialising in children with special educational needs. Education authorities should offer parents details of any such relevant sources of advice and support.